Cop Shop

1 9 7 7 - 1 9 8 4 (Australia)
582 x 60 minute episodes

Described as 'cops and robbers with homes to go to', Cop Shop followed the work and personal relationships of the police officers of Riverside Police Station. By featuring women police, Crawford Productions were moving Australian crime drama away from being an all male dominion (as it had been to date).

Riverside also provided a kind of Upstairs Downstairs world as the police station was home to both uniformed police and plainclothes detectives. The upstairs detectives included Tony Bonner and George Mallaby (ex-The Box) and the memorable Detective J J Johnson, played by Peter Adams who had previously usually played bad guys on TV.

Although Jeff Johnson was on the side of law and order, he drank, slept around and was far from pure. He fell in love with a stripper (Joanna Lockwood) and settled down to a life of domestic bliss with her, until Lockwood decided to leave the series.

Sustaining female roles were played by Rowena Wallace as George Mallaby's difficult wife and Paula Duncan, while comedic content was provided by the pairing of Terry Norris as the crusty old Desk Sergeant O'Reilly and Gil Tucker as his most naive young police officer.

The partnership ended when Norris left the show to stand for a seat in the Victorian Parliament. Terry Norris ultimately became a Labor MP in Victoria, Australia.